miércoles, 27 de noviembre de 2013

studio arte has been exploring the notion of nomad living in their architectural practice, resulting in a series of shipping container structures that they see serving a multitude of purposes: a start up for young home owners, a holiday home, a concept for holiday resort planners, a shed for guests, a home office, a home studio, a pop-up, or a hotel room. one of the first prototypes they have realized is situated in the picturesque region of algarve, portugal, where the experimental firm has transformed a single standard shipping container module into a getaway retreat. boldly painted in orange to compliment the lush surrounding greenery, the structure features a wide deck that runs along the entire frontage of the dwelling, extending the narrow space outwards thus opening up the interior to the exterior via large glass sliding doors. the shelter includes living, eating, and wash areas and responds to the site’s local bureaucratic building regulations. ‘nomad living’ is a mobile, sustainable and economical getaway–a functional shell that can be transformed by adding various architectural, mechanical and engineering features.

lunes, 25 de noviembre de 2013

Inaugurated recently at the heart of the old city of ramle, the Orthodox school was planned in response to the classroom shortage within the Christian community of the city.The small plot and the need to connect with the historical fabric created a dense continuum of bifurcated yards.

Placing the new structures adjacent to the trapezoid sport-court of the existing school created a central place for outdoor activities. This spatial continuum was further enhanced by uplifting the buildings–enabling free movement contributing to possible interaction between the students and teachers, in ventilated and shaded spaces.

The natural connection to the neighboring buildings has done much to strengthen the ties with the community, who sees the new building as their cultural icon.

As the density had created mutual shading- lacking natural light- some of the buildings have been slanted toward the yard with especially large windows and skylights.

Placement of the rooms on either side of the buildings has prevented the need for long corridors, creating spacious passages that serve for the leisure, exhibitions, and games.

Built-in crosses, reminiscent of tadao ando’s church of light, have enhanced the inside-out relations.

viernes, 22 de noviembre de 2013

Located in Ofunato, a town on the distinctive Sanriku Kaigan coastline of Iwate prefecture in northeastern Japan, Ofunato Civic Center and Library is a cultural building complex which consists of a main hall with 1100 seats, a library, multi-purpose spaces, an atelier, a tea room, and a studio. In its development, regional workshops and fieldwork have been organized by more than 50 times to make communication among architects, local residents and public officers.

Following those workshops, programs of each function were verified, and a library was added as per requests from its locals. How to represent its local form has also been discussed in order to design a new iconic community space. In workshops, architects were required not to adhere to any particular forms or ideas, and to discern architecture, the form of space, from something ambiguous. Through many events, the power in its creating process of architecture motivated the local involvement in the project. Consequently, it has attracted more than 20,000 people every month in a city of 40,000 people since it was inaugurated.